Diggers, Dolphins and Dilemmas

In between waiting for workmen to come and finish my sewing room I have managed to get the sewing machine out and stitch up a couple of summer shirts for gorgeous grandson number 1.

Like all small boys our grandson loves all sorts of utility vehicles but diggers are especially interesting, so when I saw the Small Things on the Move fabric by Lewis and Irene I knew exactly what to do with it.

I used the pattern by Pox Couture to make two shirts last summer, which were a tad big for him then so I used the same pattern size this year and will be keeping my fingers crossed that they are now the right size!

This one is also in a Lewis and Irene fabric called Spindrift. This time I triple-checked that I had the buttons and buttonholes on the correct side!

The shirts are fairly straightforward to put together, there is a bit of jiggery-pokery required to fit the collar on neatly but other than that it is relatively simple.  Less simple on this one was getting the buttonholes right. My sewing machine did not like that pocket placement on the dolphin shirt even although it was the same on the diggers shirt. When I was stitching the automatic buttonhole nearest to the pocket, the machine foot got stuck when it reached the pocket and had stitched repeatedly in the same place before I realised. I really hate unpicking buttonholes :( The solution I found was to stitch the buttonhole from the opposite end so that the foot worked away from the pocket not towards it.

That wasn't my only button related mishap though as I managed to miscount when I was marking the buttonholes and had to mark them out again. Now, I have some questions for the experienced dressmakers reading this. I made the mark above with an air-erasable marker and haven't ironed the shirt yet as I am worried that if I do it might set the mark permanently. Is that likely? How long should I wait for the mark to disappear and if it doesn't if I wash the shirt will that make it disappear? I am definitely regretting using a pink marker on white fabric!

Looking forward to getting the benefit of your advice :)

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day - FQ Fabric bundle

Hello and welcome to another wonderful Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day, a chance to discover lots of interesting new bloggers and win some great prizes too, what more could you ask for?

If you are visiting Celtic Thistle Stitches for the first time, welcome, I am delighted to make your acquaintance. Feel free to have a look around and get a flavour of my quilting, crafting and travelling. On the other hand if you are an old friend, thanks for your support and general quilty goodness, sometimes it is all that stops my quilting adventures from descending into chaos :)

Let's cut to the chase though, today is all about giving you the chance to win some quilty goodness, and, boy, do I have some great quilty goodness for you. Thanks to the lovely Kellie, at

there is a fabulous FQ bundle of 7 fabrics from the Dulce Brasil collection from new UK fabric designers, Lewis and Irene, up for grabs for one lucky winner.

Don't those fabrics just scream summer :) (unlike the weather outside my window!)

So, what do you need to do to have your very own Samba party? Head on over to Plush Addict and browse Kellie's fantastic fabric range, then pop back here and tell me your favourite, that's it!

One random winner will be drawn when the giveaway closes at 08.00 GMT, Saturday 17th May (24.00 PST, Friday 16th May).

International entries are of course welcome :)

If you are a no-reply blogger on Blogger hosted blogs, please make sure that you include your email address in the comment. I would hate for you to miss out if drawn because I can't get hold of you!

Good luck!